Beach Safety

Five people have died on NSW Beaches since the start of the season, given that so many of us live on the coast, how do we get this so wrong?

Every year in Australia the beach patrol season runs from the start of October until the end of the Easter School holidays, the bit that shocks me more than anything is that all of these deaths were caused by swimming in rips. As someone who grew up on the beach I was taught two things when I was young, firstly I was taught how to spot a rip and secondly I was told to always swim between the flags… surely that’s common sense

So, what is a rip?

Tony O’Mara from Surf Life Saver’s NSW says that rips are about water that hits the shore making a quick exit back out to sea, so what do you do if you get caught?